£3.5m roads revamp in Worcestershire finishes

A £3.5 million project to repair potholes, divots and cracks on Worcestershire's roads has now finished.

The county council says the mammoth summer project, the biggest ever single investment into the network, has come to an end exactly on schedule.

The dry weather in recent weeks has meant highways workers have not had to suspend the scheme at any point.

As your Worcester News first revealed back in April, it means 200 different roads have now had new surface dressing.

At the time of the launch the council's Conservative leadership had said a wet summer would have meant the work carrying on into the autumn.

The big investment follows repeated surveys suggesting the public see tackling potholes as the second biggest priority after child social care.

Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes.

But it has proved controversial in the past - in June last year loose stone chippings from surface dressing at The Tything in Worcester led to huge plumes of dust gathering across buildings, infuriating traders.

The council has used different batches of chippings this time and says it does not expect any repeats.

Councillor John Smith, cabinet member for highways, said: "The team has worked really hard since the programme started in April and the weather has been kind.

"It means they've been able to get through an amazing amount of work to ensure the scheme has been completed on time.

"Surface dressing is an excellent preventative measure that allows us to extend the lifespan of roads catching them at a point before more costly methods of repair are needed.

"It offers good value for the taxpayer and one of the biggest advantages being it can be done quickly cutting down on road or lane closures that cause inconvenience to motorists."

The spend is the single biggest amount of cash the council has ever splashed on roads in one fell swoop, and is £500,000 more than what was earmarked towards it last year.

A total of 34 roads benefited in Worcester, including Spetchley Road, Hylton Road and New Road.

Despite there being fewer recorded defects, the most recent public survey of roads in Worcestershire revealed just 31 per cent were satisfied with the network, compared to 42 per cent in 2011.

Comments

Bilford Road is still a complete mess. Have they forgotten that one?Hwicce

Bilford Road is still a complete mess. Have they forgotten that one?

Score: -1

Redhillman
1:53pm Tue 5 Aug 14

So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.

"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.

And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......

So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.
"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.
And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......Redhillman

So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.

"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.

And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......

Score: 2

skychip
2:11pm Tue 5 Aug 14

Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.

Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.skychip

Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.

Score: -1

brooksider
2:45pm Tue 5 Aug 14

skychip wrote…

Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.

Northwick Road has a 2 foot gap down the middle where the resurfacing doesn't meet.

[quote][p][bold]skychip[/bold] wrote:
Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.[/p][/quote]Northwick Road has a 2 foot gap down the middle where the resurfacing doesn't meet.brooksider

skychip wrote…

Spetchley Road hasn't been repaired too well. Quite a ridge down the middle - won't be good when the bad weather comes.

Northwick Road has a 2 foot gap down the middle where the resurfacing doesn't meet.

Score: 0

oldwusterboy
11:43am Wed 6 Aug 14

Redhillman wrote…

So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.

"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.

And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......

You are a total idiot, you obviously know nothing about the process of road construction yet you come on this board and make stupid comments.

the roads failed last year as the contractor was supplied dirty/dusty chippings and they did not adhere to the road surface correctly.

Surface dressing is a far more effective and cheaper alternative to ripping up old tarmac.

Safety issues are assessed, that is why there is 10mph signs on all works, not that some people seem to be able to understand.

end of rant from someone who is in the road maintenance sector and has been doing it for over thirty years.

[quote][p][bold]Redhillman[/bold] wrote:
So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.
"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.
And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......[/p][/quote]You are a total idiot, you obviously know nothing about the process of road construction yet you come on this board and make stupid comments.
the roads failed last year as the contractor was supplied dirty/dusty chippings and they did not adhere to the road surface correctly.
Surface dressing is a far more effective and cheaper alternative to ripping up old tarmac.
Safety issues are assessed, that is why there is 10mph signs on all works, not that some people seem to be able to understand.
end of rant from someone who is in the road maintenance sector and has been doing it for over thirty years.oldwusterboy

Redhillman wrote…

So, by the sounds of it, that's it for the highways department, no further road repairs then? Because that's what this sounds like rather than ongoing, yearly wholesale repairs.

"Surface dressing is believed to prolong the life of a road by up to a decade by preventing water from getting underneath it and freezing, reducing potholes." The operative being "believed" because it's only Worcestershire's highways department who believe surface dressing works and wastes so much money on this ineffective method of repair. You may get less roads repairs when ripping up old tarmac and laying new one down, but it lasts much much longer and works out cheaper in the long run. Surface dressing merely papers over the cracks and fails within weeks, as seen on so many roads in Worcestershire, while some roads are surfaced dressed every few years meaning that this isn't a preventative method of repair. And lets not forget the safety issues with surface dressing, where not only stone ships fly everywhere, even at low speeds, but skidding on loose chippings is a major hazard which surely must make the highways staff culpable if an accident is down to poor skid residence? And then you have the issue of stone chippings blocking up the roadside drains too..... But still, the highways staff persist with surface dressing while other counties undertake proper road repairs.

And funny how Spetchley Road has been repaired, the road that leads to County Hall......

You are a total idiot, you obviously know nothing about the process of road construction yet you come on this board and make stupid comments.

the roads failed last year as the contractor was supplied dirty/dusty chippings and they did not adhere to the road surface correctly.

Surface dressing is a far more effective and cheaper alternative to ripping up old tarmac.

Safety issues are assessed, that is why there is 10mph signs on all works, not that some people seem to be able to understand.

end of rant from someone who is in the road maintenance sector and has been doing it for over thirty years.

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